Kühn fell in love with coffee brewing while teaching at
a primary school, but traded his day job to train baristas
and disadvantaged people with the aim of getting them
employment in the industry, as well as to offer certified
training courses by SCASA. Ruan Immelman from Royal
Roastery started out in 2015, when he bought his first
coffee roaster, and feels that Bloemfontein has much to
learn in terms of coffee culture.
Learning curve
Granted, the coffee culture in Bloemfontein is growing
slower than in other metropolitans, but according to
Kilbourn the slower pace allows the roasters to pioneer
something great. “The roasters here are willing to invest
in training for their staff and sourcing good quality
roasted coffee. There is still room for improvement but
our coffee culture continues to grow – it’s an exciting
time,” he says.
Adriaan and Inge Botha from Bloemfontein Coffee
Roasting Co. agree. Their sideline coffee roasting started
over weekends and after work in a little flat outside
their home – roasting, packing and labelling everything
themselves. After the demand for their product became
too big for the flat, they opened their roastery in
Langenhoven Park.
“Over the last two years, there have been a number
of coffee events in Bloemfontein, which have exposed
locals to the coffee culture of freshly and specialtyThe Cup Taster's
competition requires
you to utilise your
olfactory senses.25